About the High Line

The High Line is a new public park, built on an elevated 1930s rail structure located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street. The first section of the High Line opened to the public in June 2009. The High Line is property of the City of New York, and is maintained and operated by the non-profit Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

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If you’ve been up to the High Line recently, you may have noticed a particular scent coming mostly from Chelsea Grasslands. It’s been described as smelling like coriander, a combination of honey and cilantro leaves, or popcorn. I’ve also overheard it described, strangely, as a “burning crayon smell”, or a “strong chemical odor”.

Spencer Finch’s The River That Flows Both Ways is the spectacular installation of 700 panes of colored glass that covers the western wall of the Chelsea Market Passage on the High Line. Come hear this articulate and engaging artist speak about that piece and others, this Wednesday evening at 6:30 in the 14th St. Passage. FREE. RSVP recommended but not required.

It promises to be a lively discussion of how public art can reclaim and revitalize spaces. Hope to see you there!Panel Discussion: Public Art and Alternative Spaces Reconsidered
Caledonia Retail Space
447 West 16th St., at 10th Avenue
6:30 PM
$5 suggested donation goes toward No Longer Empty’s future productions

Earlier this summer, the Daily Beast‘s Matthew Dakotah interviewed co-founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond on their thoughts about the High Line’s opening season. The piece is now up, and offers a nice look into the minds of the guys behind the park. In it, Robert and Josh dish on their doubts and surprises along the way, what didn’t make it into the final designs, and how their own lives have changed over the past 10 years. Josh on why the design team of James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro was selected:

“They understood the appeal of a forbidden landscape. The way we visited the High Line before it was opened to the public was surreptitious, and you had to find secret ways of getting to it. In one of their presentations they used the word “illicit,” and that was my version of “you had me at hello”. They had me at illicit. I’ve really come to love the 14th Street stair because it has that same sense of mystery. It captures the essence of what it used to feel like to go into that hidden park.”

Park(ing) Day, one of our favorite yearly public space happenings, takes to the New York City streets this Friday!

This international event transforms metered parking spaces into playgrounds, parks, creative installations, and unusual meeting-grounds for all to hit the pavement and enjoy. Converting car-intended spots throughout the five boroughs, these park(ing) spaces are a great example of street-space reclaimed. Park(ing) Day’s mission doesn’t sound too far off from the High Line’s reclamation of space for the public.

Last year the High Line participated in the Park(ing) Day extravaganza, one of 57 spaces across the city. This year, our newly-opened park hovers 30 feet higher than most parking spaces, but encourages you to check out a nearby Park(ing) Day space on ground level. A map and description of all the spots is here.

One of our favorites is right here in the neighborhood. Weave the Hearts, sponsored by the West Harlem Art Fund and created by Japanese artist Shintaro Tokairin, can be located at 400 W. 14th Street, near 9th Avenue. Tokairin has created a woven installation piece which will encapsulate the space, inviting visitors to relax and indulge in the artistically-inspired parking spot.

As part of our public art programming on the High Line, Friends of the High Line is pleased to present “Specials,” a collaboration between artists Lisa Sigal and Paul Ramirez Jonas. Using their mobile art gallery / food cart, these two artists offer the public the chance to view artwork and sample homemade tacos, all free of charge. Each time “Specials” is presented, the artwork and the taco change, so it’s never the same experience twice. This project is a deliberate mixing of visual art, performance, and social event.

“Specials” will be presented on the High Line twice:

Thursday September 17, 4 to 8 pm

Thursday October 1, 4 to 8 pm

Both times in the 14th Street passage (between 13th and 14th Streets).